Saddam Vote 'a Joke' in Kurd Region

SULAYMANIYAH, (Southern Kurdistan) (AP) — A radio station in northern Iraq's Western-protected Kurdish region had just one observation about Saddam Hussein's 100 percent victory in a leadership referendum: ``a joke.''

The Kurds, who occupy three of Iraq's 18 provinces, took no part in the state-engineering balloting that handed Saddam another seven years in power. Many, in fact, paid almost no attention to the event.

Kurdish newspapers didn't mention it. Radio and television mocked it.

``It's not a real election,'' said Bala Nihad, 31, who runs a taxi service in Sulaymaniyah in the southeastern part of the Kurdish zone. ``It's a charade.''

The Kurds' utter disinterest displays just how far removed they feel from the rest of the country. American and British warplanes have watched over the 3.5 million Kurds since the 1991 Gulf War, when Saddam's forces crushed a Kurdish uprising.

Their enclave now has the trappings of a mini-state — schools, police, media and military — but power and control is divided among various political groups.

Rival factions, however, met this month in an important show of reconciliation as they prepare for a possible U.S. military campaign to topple Saddam.

``We are the Kurdish nation. We don't care about these fake elections with Saddam,'' said photo shop owner Dana Mohammad, 29. ``We will pay attention to our own elections to build our own country.''

In a barbershop, the television was tuned to music videos from Turkey rather than news from Baghdad.

``This election was not for us. We are a different country,'' said 47-year-old owner Ahmed Mohar.

Kurdish politicians, though, have stressed they want only to protect the autonomy they have gained in the last decade within a future and democratic Iraq. Iraq's neighbors, particularly Turkey, are wary that independence for Iraq's Kurds would inspire their own restive Kurdish minorities.

One of Mohar's customers, Samah Khade Aziz, 30, dismissed Saddam.

``He's horrible. He's a dictator. Who else but a dictator gets 100 percent of the vote?''

At a cigarette stand, the vendor laughed when he was told of the referendum result.

``Saddam must feel very insecure if he has to make up lies like 100 percent support,'' said Adnan Ali Mohammad, 36. ``All the world is laughing at Saddam.''

Iraqi officials said popular outrage at the threat of U.S. attacks boosted the outcome even higher than the 99.96 percent for Saddam in the last leadership vote in 1995.

``We know the Iraqi people. We were part of Iraq once, too,'' said Bahktiar Mahoud, 40, an office clerk. ``This whole voting was just a sad show made up by Saddam.''